Sock supporter



Jan. 28,1947. A. WRIGHT 2,415,058-

SUCK SUPPORTER Filed Fb. 22. 1944 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Jan. 28, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOCK SUPPORTER Arthur Wright, Forest Hills, N. Y.

Application February 22, 1944, Serial No. 523,446

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates particularly to supports for socks and which are adapted to be applied for supporting socks of any kind while being worn.

The object of my invention is to provide a sock supporter which will not slip down and, furthermore, which does not stop the circulation in the leg. Hitherto, sock supports were in the form of garters extending around the leg, which generally had to be made very tight to avoid slipping down and this resulted in interfering with the circulation in the legs, with consequent discomfort and detriment to the healthy condition of the legs. Furthermore, garters have the disadvantage, not only of making the feet cold in the wintertime, due to poor circulation, but of progressive deterioration in the garters due to perspiration, fermentation, etc. Another disadvantage has been the necessity of using elastic rubber in the portions of the garters around the legs in order to maintain the garters, as far as possible, in place, and the rubber for this purpose has been both difficult to obtain and subject to decay and loss of its elastic properties, in use. The sock supporters made in accordance with my invention avoid all of these serious disadvantages which are present in the use of garters.

While my invention is capable of embodiment in many different forms, for the purpose of illustration I have shown only certain forms thereof in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a sock supporter, made for the left or right foot, in accordance with my invention, showing a standard made of wire;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the lower portion of the same, taken on line 3-3, in the case where the supporter shown in Fig. l is to be used on the left foot. This section shows the lower portion of the supporter having a slight concave curvature towards the inside of the left foot on which it is carried, and a clockwise twist, if desired, in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the supporter shown in Fig. 1 similar to the section shown in Fig. 3, but, in this instance, it being assumed that the supporter is made for use on the right foot. This horizontal section shows a slight curvature of the extreme lower portion thereof, which is concave towards the inside of the right foot, and an anticlockwise twist, if desired, in dotted lines.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing the sock engaging button used on the right and left foot sock supports shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a modification of my invention, showing the use of a transparent plastic standard thereon;

Fig. '7 is a horizontal section on line ll of Fig. 6 showing the button and holder used in the form of my invention shown in Fig. 6;

Figs. 8, 9,- 10 and 11 are, respectively, a side elevation, a rear elevation, a front elevation and a horizontal section of the telescoping joint when closed, in the telescoping modification of my invention; and

Fig. 12 is a front elevation of the same when telescoped.

In the drawing, referring first to Figs. 1 to 5, I have shown a sock supporter comprising a steel wire I, preferably of stainless steel, having two branches 2 and 3 which extend downwardl toward each other to form, at their lower ends, a substantially triangular loop' l, having a substantially fiat terminal portion 5 provided with, if desired, a slight transverse concave curvature B, in Fig. 3, to clear the adjacent side of the foot in the case of the left foot sock supporter, inasmuch as the sock supporters are, preferably, worn on the inside of each foot at the rear of the ankle, although they may be worn on the outside of the foot if desired. As shown in Fig. 4, for the right foot sock supporter'there may be provided, similarly, a slight transverse concave curvature l towards the inside of the right foot and similarly for the left foot sock supporter, towards the inside of the left foot, as shown in Fig. 3. The sides of the said wire loop 4, in the form of a pear-shaped curve, one side of which is located at the side or corner of the heel, or in the form of a triangle, are inclined towards each other to avoid the ankle joint, in whatever position the supporters are worn, and so that the supporters can be interchanged on the two feet. Also, each loop may have a slight curve la towards the foot. Near the top of each sock supporter the portions 2 and 3 of the steel wire I pass through sockets 8 and 9 on a sliding holder It for a headed button I I, which may have thereon, if desired, a piece of rubber tubing [2. The two portions 2 and 3, at their upper ends, also have lateral offset parts I3 and M and eyes l5 and IS which are formed by bending the ends of the wire around upper ends H and is of a tapered button socket I9 made of a rigid metal wire, preferably of stainless steel. The said two ends I! and I8 of the button socket !9 are surrounded with a metal sleeve 28 which fastens the two ends I! and I8 permanently together, preferably by solder and indentations 2i and 22.

The eyes l5 and [6 are formed over the ends I! and [8 of the button socket !9 adjacent to the two ends of the sleeve 20. This arrangement permits the button socket ill to be rotated freely throughout an entire circle, as shown, for example, in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 6, instead of the wires 2 and 3 I may make the sock supporter, but not so advantageously as in the form shown in Fig. l, by providing a downwardly extending rod 23 of a transparent plastic of any desired character, and having at the lower end thereof an aperture'd portion 24 of the same general shape as the loop 4. The upper portion of the rod 23 passes through a holder 25 carrying a button I! with a piece of rubber tubing l2 thereon, the holder 25 having in this instance a single socket 26 to receive the rod 23 on which it is slidable. The upper end of the rod 23 has a transverse passageway 21 in which the two ends 5 l and it of the button socket l9 are rotatably received.

In the modification in Figs. 8 to 12, there is shown a telescoping form of the sock supporter of Figs. 1 to 5. In this, the construction is the same as in Figs. 1 to 5 except in the following respects. In this instance, instead of the wire I there are two wires 23 and 29. The wire 28 has at its upper ends two horizontal ring-shaped portions 35 and 3! through which the wire 29 extends. At its lower end the wire 28 has a loop showing flared portions forming bulges at the front and rear of the loop 32, similar to the loop Ll. At its upper end the wire 29 has eye's 33 and 34 engaging the two ends I! and i8 of the button socket i9, cooperating with the sliding button holder ill. At its lower end the wire 29 has a small horizontal ring 35 through which the two ends of the wire 28 pass, and above the horizontal ring 35 there is a vertical ring 3% to receive both of the horizontal rings 35 and El when the supporter is in locked extended position.

In the operation of the sock supporter, the same is applied to the foot, preferably after the sock and shoe are on the foot, by slipping the loop 4 downwardly between the foot and the sock on the inside of the foot and at the rear of the ankle. The button ll, which is slid-able on the wire portions 2 and 3, is then engaged with the top of the sock near the upper edge thereof, and the sliding holder it is then moved. upwardly on the wire portions 2 and 3 to a point near the top thereof and opposite the wide portion of the button socket it, after the latter has been moved upwardly out of the way, as shown in Fig. 2. The

button socket if! is then rotated downwardl over the bution l2 carrying the edge of the sock and the latter, together with the button, is then moved downwardly into the narrow portion of the socket it after the latter has been rotated downwardly into a vertical position, as shown in Fig. l. lhe sock is now tightly clamped in position, where it will remain and from which it will not accidentally become dislodged or slide down on the leg, as in the case of garters. Ihe sock can be released from the button socket l9 by sliding the holder If! upwardly until it is opposite to the wide portion of the socket l9, rotating the button socket iii outwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, and then lifting the edge of the sock off the button l2. After this, the sock supporter can be withdrawn out of the top of the sock.

The sock supporter is extremely light in weight, about the weight of the usual garter, as the wires 2 and 3 can be made very thin, but of any desired dimensions, as, for example, .03

in diameter. Also, the sock supporter is very comfortable when being worn, inasmuch as relative horizontal displacement or rotation can take place in all directions between the upper and lower portions of the sock supporter. However, it is found that the upper portion of the sock supporter is perhaps best worn half way between the middle of the inside of the leg and the rear of the leg, the loop l being located similarly at the corner of the heel. In fact, if desired, the upper portion of the sock supporter may be given, initially, a fixed twist horizontally in constructing the same with regard to the loop- 4, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4, which twist may be from 0 to 45, although this is not necessary. Of course, in the case of the left leg supporter looking downwardly, this twist of the upper portion would be clockwise with regard to the lower portion of loop 2, and in the right sock supporter the said twist would be in an anti-clockwise direction. Such twist or twists may be utilized, if desired, in either the form of the support as shown in Figs. 1 to 5, or the form of the support shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In the form shown in Figs. 6 and '7, the button holder 25 is engaged with the sock and released therefrom in the same manner as in the operation of the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5. In the forms shown in Figs. 1 to 5 and in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively, the loop 4 and the wide portion extend up to the lower level of the ankle and have a lateral contour which is accommodated to its position at the corner of the heel between the ankle and the rear of the foot, so as to receive the upper portion of the loop 4 and wide portion 35 in the concavity of the foot, at the heel, without any opportunity of :moving substantially forwardly or rearwardly and so that the right .d eft supporters can be interchanged on the ht and loft feet. At the same time there is an unrestricted opportunity for horizontal displacement or pivotal movement of the upper portion of supporter around the lower end of the supporter as a pivot in all directions. Also, it will be noted that the considerable width of the loop and the wide portion 24 prevent any possibility of the supporter becoming dislodged into any cro ise position with regard to the foot. However, it will be noted that the upper portion of the loop and wide portion 25 terminate just below the top of the shoe while at the same time the narrowest portion of the wires 2 and and of the rod 23 is opposite to the ankle of the foot so as to be substantially unseen, especially in view of the fine" ness of the wire 2 and 3 and the invisibilit of gl'aie transparent, preferably colorless. plastic rod The form of my invention shown in Figs. 3 to 12 operates in the same manner as the form thereof shown in Figs. 1 to except that in this instance, when the sock supporter is not in use the supporter is made so as to be telescoped. In this form, when used on the usual high socks the parts are pulled outwardly until the rings 35 and 3! engage with the ring where they will stay upright while supporting the socks. When the supporter is not in use, as for instance when it is packed for shipment, the button holder IE! is moved downwardly to spread the ends of the wire 29 slightly, thus opening the ring 36 a little, and then pushing the two ends of the sock supporter towards each other to release the rings 30 and 3! from the ring whereupon the parts will telescope into the position shown in Fig. 12. This form has the further advantage,

5 also, of permitting still freer rotation horizontally, between the button socket l9 and the button holder Ill with regard to the loop 32.

While I have described my invention above in detail I wish it to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the same.

I claim:

1. A sock supporter comprising a standard having means for fastening an upper portion of a sock thereto and a heel engaging loop at its lower portion, said loop being downwardly flared at its upper portion forming bulges therebelow and laterally extending relative to said standard, to embrace the rear side portions of the heel of the wearer with said bulged portions.

2. A sock supporter comprising a strand forming a heel engaging loop having lateral bulges with an upwardly tapered mouth and upwardly extending approximately parallel strands, and

6 means at the upper portion of said strands for securing a sock thereto.

3. A sock supporter comprising a standard having means for fastening an upper portion of,

wardly tapered mouth and upwardly extending approximately parallel strands, and means at the upper portion of said strands for securing a sock thereto.

ARTHUR WRIGHT. 

